A web designer has created an online directory of Sunshine Coast makers after finding that buying local is sometimes easier said than done.

Miranda Hailes, of Palmwoods, launched sunnycoastmade.com.au to connect local makers and potential customers.

The website started with some 90 makers grouped into 12 main categories and 56 sub-categories.

They include artists, coffee roasters, jewellery makers, clothing designers, and gourmet food producers.

A big believer in buying local, Ms Hailes came up with the idea for the website during the height of COVID-19 restrictions in Queensland when buying local at markets was not an option.

“My husband and I looked at what products we were purchasing and looked at opportunities where we might be able to buy something locally,” Ms Hailes said.

“I realised that there might have been a lot of products to buy locally but it wasn’t always easy to find them, and that’s when I had the idea for the directory – one place that focused on products made and designed on the Sunshine Coast, and on Sunshine Coast brands as well,” she said.

“I just wanted to bring it all together in one place that was easy for locals to find what they wanted and that would raise awareness of what’s made on the Sunshine Coast.”

With a background in website design and online marketing, Ms Hailes had the skills and experience to put it together.

Supported by her husband, Ron, she spent months working on the website and researching Sunshine Coast makers, designers, producers and brands.

What she found was that there were twice as many people making original products on the Sunshine Coast than she thought.

“There are so many talented people making so many wonderful products. We discovered in excess of 800 makers on the Sunshine Coast,” she says.

“I’m constantly blown away. There’s so many unique and incredible things made here.”

The website divides the greater Sunshine Coast into 15 areas so that shoppers can find products closest to them.

Visit sunnycoastmade.com.au for more information.